Historic Commission Mulls Criteria For Mandating Preservation

Report on the Meeting Of The Amherst Historical Commission (2/10/21)

The meeting was held via Zoom, was recorded, and may be posted on the Amherst YouTube Channel at a future date.

Participating: Commission Members: Jane Wald (Chair), Jan Marquardt, Pat Auth, Robin Fordham, Hetty Startup, Jane Sheffler. Staff: Planners Ben Breger, Nate Malloy

Dana Street Garage Rebuild
This pre-1964 garage at 99 Dana Street was deemed by the Commission to have no historical or architectural significance, thus granting the owner permission to rebuild it as a garden shed. But what is “historical or architectural significance”? 

Preservation Criteria For New General Bylaw
Most of the rest of the meeting was devoted to refining the draft of the  Preservation Of Historically Significant Buildings bylaw to clarify which demolition projects the Building Inspector can approve and which ones must be referred to the Historical Commission for its approval. 

Article 13 of the Town’s Zoning Bylaw wll be revised and become a General Bylaw. (for a draft of the new bylaw look here. For Town Staff commentary on the draft look here.)

The Commission wrestled with finding clearer criteria for “significance” and “preferably preserved,” and what exactly is a “building” or a “structure” among other issues staff review found ambiguous. Is a fence a building? Is a pavilion worthy of preservation? What constitutes “25% of the exterior envelope” or 25% of “any façade visible from the public right-of-way”? What are “important architectural elements”? 

When the preservation bylaw becomes a General Bylaw rather than a Zoning Bylaw, the Historical Commission alone will determine whether a structure can be demolished or must be preserved, and will grant the permit, rather than merely advise the Building Inspector as it does now. 

Also among the issues considered were how much of a structure and what parts of a structure should be preserved, should applicability be limited only to what can be seen from the street, should a delay while owners find a way to preserve a structure be 12 months or 18 months, and are fences structures? 

Next steps are to hold a public hearing on the Bylaw followed by a Town Council vote to adopt it as a General Bylaw. This  requires a majority vote of the Town Council and will make it easier for applicants than a zoning bylaw.

Old Business
Under Old Business, the Commission was informed that posts for the signs on the Amherst Writer’s Walk (in process for more than 15 years) have been constructed and are ready for installation.

The Civil War tablets will be moved from storage at the former Ruxton gravel pit in North Amherst to the Bangs Center’s Pole Room when a mover with the capabilities to move fragile heavy stones is found. DAX Movers had been hired but was dropped due to communication issues. Amherst Welding has constructed metal supports for the tablets. The purpose of the move is to allow the public to view the tablets, after some minor restoration work has been done. The Town will ultimately have to decide on a future, permanent home for them.